Comparison of Neotoma (packrat) feces to associated sediments from Paisley Caves, Oregon, U.S.A

Abstract

Paisley 5 Mile Point Caves, Oregon, U.S.A. offer a unique perspective on Native Americans living in the Great Basin during the Younger Dryas. The cave sediments are mixed with abundant, disaggregated, packrat coprolites. We developed a technique for processing these packrat coprolites. Using this technique, this study analyses fifteen packrat coprolite samples separated from sediments collected from the sidewall of a test unit within Paisley Caves #2. The results were then used to create a paleoenvironmental reconstruction of the region. This reconstruction was then compared to a previous reconstruction based on the fossil pollen in the sediment from the same site. The reconstructions were similar. However, we found that the packrat coprolites were prone to dietary biases that could mask the true paleovegetation of the area. By studying the differences and similarities of these two sample sets, we obtained a better understanding of how each set reflects the local environment.

Keywords:

• Paisley Caves
• Great Basin, U.S.A.
• paleoenvironment
• wood rat
• archaeology
• pollen analysis

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Table A1. Raw counts of packrat coprolite samples.

Table A2. Raw counts of archaeological samples.

Table A3. Raw counts of modern samples.

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Chase W. Beck

CHASE W. BECK received a Bachelor of Science degree in biology from Hillsdale College, went on to achieve his Master of Science in biology from East Tennessee State University, and recently completed his Doctorate in Anthropology from Texas A&M University. His research interests include plant domestication, ancient diets, forensic palynology, and beans.

Vaughn M. Bryant

VAUGHN M. BRYANT received degrees from the University of Texas at Austin (BA in geography, MA in anthropology, Ph.D. in Botany) and currently teaches at Texas A&M University in College Station, Texas. He is a Professor of Anthropology and the Director of the Texas A&M University Palynology Laboratory. He is also an Adjunct Professor of Forensic Sciences at The University of Nebraska. He is a former editor of Palynology and former president of AASP. Currently he is a Trustee and the Secretary of the AASP Foundation.

Dennis L. Jenkins

DENNIS L. JENKINS is a Senior Research Archaeologist at the Museum of Natural and Cultural History, University of Oregon where he received his PhD in 1991. He has taught and directed the UO’s Northern Great Basin archaeological field school in central Oregon since 1989. His research focuses on the first colonization of the Americas, obsidian sourcing and hydration, prehistoric shell bead trade, and prehistoric settlement-subsistence patterns of the Northern Great Basin.